


The barn owl, the swans and every other bird in this charade

by Veraverorum (your_Mother)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fluff and Angst, Love at First Sight, Masked ball, Minor Mercy/Pharah, Multi, minor Sombra/Widowmaker, reinvented family ties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 16:52:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13104459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/your_Mother/pseuds/Veraverorum
Summary: There had been a time, not long ago, when their realms had been at war.Gabriel still remembered it by the scars that marred his face and body, or by the memory of the hunger he had felt back then. His luck was that he was a prince –the first in the succession line. That was his privilege, and he thanked the gods for that.





	The barn owl, the swans and every other bird in this charade

**Author's Note:**

  * For [drowsycakes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/drowsycakes/gifts).



> I must confess, court AUs are my weakness so I was delighted when Jammcakes asked for one!  
> I hope everyone who reads is going to enjoy it and happy holidays!  
> As usual, the biggest thanks to my beta for working so hard for and with me
> 
>  
> 
> If I'm missing any warnings please let me know

There had been a time, not long ago, when their realms had been at war.

  
Gabriel still remembered it by the scars that marred his face and body, or by the memory of the hunger he had felt back then. His luck was that he was a prince –the first in the succession line. That was his privilege, and he thanked the gods for that.

  
Even though such title technically shielded him from a great deal of the most unpleasant aspects of the war, cocooning him in the warm rooms of a castle far away from the muddy battlefields and the risk of death, Gabriel never felt as if he belonged there. If the people of his kingdom, _his_ people, were suffering, an aristocratic title was not an excuse behind which to hide. He was the first of his family to head to the front lines, even before his father, the king, to assess the situation. Gabriel had planned and conducted many different battles in those early years, not shying away from danger, nor thinking himself better than the son of the butcher who was called to war by a royal decree. Yet, once again, his luck had taken the form of his royal title, which came with a better preparation for everything, from military matters to scholarly ones.

  
He was 16 when the war began, hot-blooded and thirsty for adventure.

 

He was 25 when it finally ended, tired and without an ounce of hope left in his heart.

  
Now, after months of delicate negotiations, his father the king and the king of their enemy country had found an agreement on which to build a new peace. It was a marriage. An arranged marriage, and even if it meant that his personal freedom would be taken away from him, Gabriel considered it a blessing. A little personal sacrifice on his part to save his people's lives, to finally give them a chance to have a better existence, to prosper in peace. A small price that after 9 years of deaths and losses, he was oh so willing to pay.

 

The marriage had been set for the following spring, tying their hopes to a season of new beginnings.

  
In the meantime Gabriel had focused on supervising the reconstruction of what would be his own future realm.

 

He’d had no time to meet his soon-to-be spouse in person, and only ever heard tales from the ambassadors about grace and how his spouse had a noble soul, and had only seen his spouse in small portraits painted by artists hailing from that country. For Gabriel’s tastes, his spouse was… too pale, with hair too blond, though he hoped that in due time, considering this fabled nice personality, he would be able to get past this and create a respectful, fair relationship with his intended. He did not have any hope for there to be love, though… Gabriel knew from the beginning that it was not something to take into consideration when politics were involved.

  
Maybe they could find a common ground in the well being of their subjects, an interest for scientific or practical topics that could allow them to bond through friendship.

  
And then, the time for Gabriel to meet his intended came on the verge of spring.

  
It was still cold outside when the crimson carriage with the golden R of Reyes emblazoned on it crossed the borders into the Morrison's realm.

  
The kings of both countries had decided to celebrate the blessed news with a masquerade ball, inviting aristocrats from all over the world to share the merriment and formalize the union of the Reyes and Morrison's blood in front of their eyes.

  
At last, Gabriel would finally meet the person he would spend the rest of his life with.

  
He descended from the carriage, his sister Olivia in tow, because she would never lose such an important moment of her favored big brother, not even if it brought the end of the world (but Gabriel knew better –it was just to get new material to taunt him with later), and they both shivered inside their fur coats as the last of the winter breeze blew past them. Gabriel already wanted to turn back the horses and go home, where the rays of sun where warmer even during the coldest day.

  
“No shit those northerners wanted to invade us!” Olivia said almost too loudly, and even though on one hand Gabriel wanted to reprimand her on her lack of diplomacy, on the other he was thinking the same thing.

  
The ambassador who had followed the reconciliation case in the Reyes' realm, Amélie, shot Olivia a deathly glare but said nothing, not willing to risk another war on behalf of throttling the foreign princess for offending her motherland's honor. She just turned around and walked ahead of them to announce their arrival, calling them to follow her as if they were an afterthought.

 

After months of Amélie living with them, they were used to her way of doing things and didn't feel all that insulted by her behavior, even when there was a culture clash. On the contrary, she sassed Olivia back most of the time when she was not ignoring the princess only to trick her.

 

That was probably the reason why Olivia was so enraptured by her. She didn't treat the princess like a divinity who could be enraged by the smallest contradiction, she didn't bend backward just to please her. Amélie treated Olivia like a human being and as a consequence Olivia was head over heels for her, the foreign widow who played emissary in a game of matchmaking.

 

Gabriel was sort of happy for his baby sister yet at the same time envious.

  
He buried himself even deeper in his coat, fur hiding the grimace on his face as the three entered the Morrison's palace, and the family’s servants came out to pick up their journey trunks.

  
The masked ball wouldn't take place until the following evening, so after a brief parley with the current king, Gabriel retired to the rooms assigned to him and his retinue until further notice.

  
The dinner was served there, something greasy and filling, and when the night came it did so quickly, and the sun came back only much later than they’d been used to. It was confusing for them, spending so much time in the dark when back at home the sun was a familiar, constant presence, warming their skin like a tender kiss.

  
Gabriel and Olivia spent the day near the fireplace in their antechambers, not willing to face the bone-chilling cold of that foreign realm again, while Amélie mocked them and explained the titles and country of origin of the various nobles they could see arriving at the palace from behind the safe barrier of a window.

  
There were so many of them, and Gabriel almost felt intimidated by those people and their big, loud entourages, all sparkling in gems and golds and expensive fabrics. It felt like they belonged to a different world from him. He was battle-hardened and scarred, and if left too long in the sole company of his own mind, maybe even scared, as he tended to overthink about the past 9 years, while those people…

 

They partied and dressed finely and played with other people’s lives like they were worth less than the ground they walked on. He so hoped that his intended wasn't so much of a superficial jerk like the rest of them, but…

  
Thankfully there were Olivia and Amélie with him to take his mind away from his troubles. Olivia was… well, the usual Olivia, irreverent and affectionate. Amélie was a countess and she knew so much gossip and embarrassing stories about the people who were coming to attend his engagement that Gabriel laughed away his last reservations about the evening.  
  
When it was time, they changed into their dresses for the celebration.

  
Gabriel had a barn owl costume, or something that should have resembled one, at least. A bone-white mask was tied behind his head that made everyone's skin crawl at the sight, resembling too much a bird skull, and over his brown cloak was a pauldron, complete with pale brown quills speckled with black and white all over it like a fluffy mane of feathers.

  
His sister per contrast had more or less the same attire. Where his trousers, shirt and boots had been tan, hers were purple and gray, and she kept repeating she was a dove whenever Gabriel mockingly called her pigeon. The mask was the same feathered one that Amélie was also wearing for her black swan costume. More of a dark green dress with black quill accents than a proper animal attire but she wasn't one of the main guests of the party and could be more lax in her charade.

  
It mattered little though. Probably Olivia would steal the ambassador away for the whole event, with an excuse or another, leaving Gabriel to deal with all the attendants by himself. Even if the guests seemed to live on another plane of existence from him, Gabriel had survived a war, he could survive his own engagement party too.

  
With the music from the court orchestra that started to resonate even in their wing, the trio exited their rooms to face the night of entertainment.

 

* * *

  
  
“The one in the mute swan costume, I guess.”

  
That was all Amélie managed to say to him before Olivia took her gloved hand between hers and pulled the countess aside to ask questions about this painting and then one next to it too, the purple arm of his sister resting very low on their friend's back.

  
Gabriel sighed, wishing he could be the third wheel of that improvised art lesson instead of trying to get close to his future spouse and have a talk. It seemed only logical to him to exchange at least some words with this person if they had to share the rest of their lives together, and not wait after the wedding ceremony. Still it would be a hard task with all that people in the ballroom. Them and their over-the-top costumes. Who even thought that dressing up as a giraffe would be a good idea?! Somebody who wanted to see the neck of the costume bend and hit others on the head, that's who. Nobles! Gabriel could hardly stand their pretentious way of thinking even if he was one of them. Even if his costume had required many birds to give up their quills, it was still something rather contained and did not take too much space

  
That was not the problem at hand though. Gabriel had to meet the mute swan.

 

The king Morrison and his queen had been sitting on their thrones since the beginning, dressed in jewels and crowns to remember everyone exactly who they were, while on the dais their offspring stood, showing off there was a second one, but it disappeared almost immediately. Gabriel didn't give it too much of a thought –probably another one of the royal children who had better things to do than attend their sibling's engagement party.

  
Not everyone was like Olivia. Then again, Olivia had ditched him for spending time with Amélie so… He already had something in common with his intended.

  
Also a bird costume it seemed. From afar Gabriel could see only a vague human resembling form covered in white feathers. It did not have the shape of a chicken, but still it was hard to discern where something started and something finished in all that white. He got closer, as closer as he could go with all the people and their gaudy attires filling the ballroom, the waiters running around with tall glasses of champagne perched on top of small trays, and in that same moment, all the princes of the Morrison family descended from the dais to mingle with their guests. It was Gabriel's chance to get close to his intended.

  
Thankfully the mute swan too was walking in his direction and now, way closer, Gabriel could recognize a white attire covered in quills only along the arms and on the lower part of the coat, where it dangled freely from the belt that tied it to the waist. The mask only covered the upper part of the face, and was surrounded by white feathers with a few black ones around the eyes to make the whole ensemble look more like the bird it was supposed to be.

  
Gabriel wasn't sure if he should have been impressed or not. It was still a modest costume if one considered what they were surrounded by. For sure he could appreciate to be hiked to somebody with a good amount of common sense instead of another one of those gaudy nobles.

  
There were others too who wanted the attention of his future spouse though, and Gabriel had to wait for the mute swan to spend some time with them, listening to their empty chat and find the quickest, less callous way to get rid of them. That was something else that Gabriel found interesting about his intended. It seemed that they would have more things in common than he had previously thought of and he found himself smiling under the cover of his mask. For a brief second Gabriel wished for the swan to come to him.

  
As if answering his thoughts, the swan princeling turned to glance in Gabriel's direction and their eyes met. They were a magnetic light color, leaving Gabriel wanting more, and their owner must have thought the same thing about Gabriel as now the swan noble was moving toward him for real, not letting Gabriel out of sight.

  
It still took them some time to finally be in front of each other, the other nobles still trying to get a piece of the swan's attention for themselves but getting dodged.

  
The moment Gabriel was able to look straight into those eyes, such a clear blue, he lost his voice. He prized himself a good speaker, but in that instant Gabriel was too entranced by pretty blue eyes highlighted by soft dark feathers to utter a single word.

  
“I saw you looking from afar.” The voice was deep, raspy. Deeper than the voice he thought could belong to the person in the portrait. The voice of a person sure of themselves, used to giving orders and being obeyed and Gabriel had a hard time focusing on something that wasn't the idea of that voice rough after an intense night of passion.

  
That had definitely been an unexpected thought! Gabriel was hoping to have a civil relationship with his intended and now look at him already having sexual fantasies upon meeting said intended in person. Under his mask, he was blushing.

  
“Or maybe you weren't?” the mute swan spoke again, with a note of discouragement in the tone. The hands inside those white silk gloves were fidgeting. Gabriel noticed them only because he lowered his eyes in order to not look into that intense blue any longer.

  
He was making his future spouse feel nervous too and he didn't know if that was a good or bad sign at that point.

 

“I... Yes, I was.” After a first hesitation where he was trying to place the words back together in proper order, Gabriel remembered he was also a prince. The heir to the throne of the Reyes House none the less. Some pretty eyes shouldn't be enough to sway him.

  
Yet where the eyes alone did not manage that, the swan’s parted lips, a soft breath of anticipation leaving them, _did_ , and Gabriel faltered again. He coughed, hiding his mouth behind his hand because he forgot he was wearing a mask. Could he be any more of an embarrassment for himself?!

  
“You're a mute swan.” It seemed like he could, yes.

  
Thankfully for Gabriel, the princeling found his fact-stating funny and smiled at it. It was oddly sweet, the harp music in the background not helping the situation.

  
“Yes, I am. And you are... an owl?” a curious gaze encompassed Gabriel's costume and he felt like preening under it.

  
“A barn owl, your highness.” With a flutter of his cape and feathered pauldron, Gabriel bowed, smile still hidden behind his bone white mask. He was feeling silly, suddenly acting like a teenager at the mercy of his own hormones and was a bit scared by that side of himself that he didn't think he had ever experienced. Or had the time and chance to experience, he thought with a hint of regret.

  
“Would you like to dance?” he asked, rising up from his bow and wiggling his eyebrows, forgetting once again that the mask was hiding his features.

  
For a brief second the swan princeling hesitated too, looking around at the people surrounding them like there was somebody watching over them to check that they were doing nothing inappropriate. They weren’t –not yet at least.

  
“I don't think we should. I'm not…” there was a strain to the swan's voice. While it was still deep, it was less sure of itself. Not like before. Yet Gabriel could read the desire to say yes in those sparkling eyes. It was neither the reflection of the shiny lights nor the flutes of alcohol that they did not drink from either. The mute swan wanted to dance with the barn owl too.

  
“The worst thing that can happen is that we dance the night away.” Gabriel tried to reassure his intended, holding out his hand for the mute swan to take. As if warmed by those words, the swan appeared to give up the extreme awareness of their surroundings and took Gabriel hand in a strong grip.

  
He didn't know if the palace orchestra suddenly switched to another rhythm in the music or if it was the words, interesting, compelling words that the swan said to him, close to his ear, but as soon as the strong body of the swan was close to his own, white feathers tickling brown ones, it was as if Gabriel's world changed all at once. It was warmer, peaceful even. Like he had found a kindred soul.

  
His name was Jack. It didn't ring any bell in Gabriel's memories but he could get used to the sound of it. He had been opposed to the war, but if his people had to suffer for somebody else's decision then for sure he would not remain inside the castle’s safety. His siblings and him had studied medicine in order to help save lives on the front, so they too had seen the horror of war first hand. Gabriel mourned that, feeling like he should have protected this prince from those tragedies even before they’d met. It was an illogical thought and yet…. yet, Gabriel was lulled by Jack's voice so close to his ear, charmed by those clear eyes and seducing smile, enraptured by the strong arms that kept him close while they danced. Gabriel wanted to thank the gods for the good luck they had bestowed upon him, for this was the man he was supposed to marry and Gabriel was honestly already smitten with him.

  
So they danced the whole night, their bodies getting closer with each song and their souls with each word. They laughed at silly jokes and held each other's hand through memories of war. A mute swan and a barn owl dancing the night away. Falling in love.

  
It was before midnight that the music got slower and the couples danced closer. Jack had long since given up looking around for some possible naysayer and Gabriel could feel he was more relaxed between his arms. He so wished to be able to sweep the man away from this charade already, show him a few tender gestures, something more… intimate, elsewhere.

  
Looking around Gabriel could see that there were small passageways hidden behind thick curtains, that led somewhere unknown, probably to be used by the servants to perform their duties unnoticed by the spoiled nobles. That was his chance.

  
“Do you want to ditch this place?” he whispered in Jack's ear, white feathers obscuring the eye holes of his mask.

  
“Yes please.” Gripping Gabriel's hand with more force, Jack leaned into him, leaving the words to caress the man's neck.

  
Gabriel trembled for a second then spun the two of them around, leading Jack towards one of the hidden doors with nonchalance as if it was part of their choreography.

  
Once they disappeared behind the curtains they stopped dancing and instead opted for a run through the corridor like they were children, laughing at their misbehaviour and still holding each other's hands.

 

As the local resident, Jack took the lead. They ended up in a small library with big windows from which the moonlight entered to lighten up what probably was a studio room, yet they weren't too far from the ballroom as some tenuous melody could still be heard.

  
Gabriel sat down, resting his back against the books and Jack imitated him, so close that their shoulders were touching. Then there was Jack's hand touching his arm, resting there while his fingers gently petted the brown cloak. It was such a cathartic moment and Gabriel thought his heart was going to explode from happiness. He thought he heard a sigh coming from Jack as his head laid on the brown feathers of Gabriel's pauldron. The white feathers of the mask mingled with the brown ones and Gabriel was allowed to peer at Jack's blond hair now that they weren't at the same height.

  
“I want to kiss you,” Gabriel said in a tender whisper, his mask leaning against Jack's head in a mockery of his lips kissing the light hair.

  
Jack suddenly moved away from his resting place, throwing Gabriel into uncertainty at the sight of his eyes wide open that looked straight into the eyes of the mask, regret apparent on his face and in his voice. “You shouldn't. I'm not...”

 

He did not really understand what Jack was talking about. It had looked to him like everything was going well up until that moment, that they were in harmony and both wanted it, but it didn't matter as much as seeing Jack in distress. To calm him down, Gabriel caressed his jaw with his hand and to his blissful surprise Jack leaned into the touch, sad eyes looking down. What was the problem, then?

  
“What's the problem? Why are you so against it? Why should we not?” he asked still in a whisper so not to spook Jack, who still kept silent and avoided his gaze. In an attempt to get a reaction out of him, a negative one, as long as there was one, Gabriel retracted his hand from the comfortable contact of Jack's skin and moved it to the back of his head, unlatching his mask.

  
That got Jack's attention and when the bone white mask was finally off, Gabriel could physically see the breath getting knocked out of Jack in a soft gasp. He was immobile, mouth open and looking at Gabriel like he was the most beautiful sight that Jack had ever seen. It was endearing, to leave Jack in such a state.

  
“I want to kiss you, Jack. I want to do more than just kiss you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Gabriel inched closer to Jack's face, admiring how the man in front of him blushed under the white feathers of his mask while their breaths mingled. “Answer sincerely please. Do _you_ want to kiss me?”

  
“Yes...” Jack breathed on Gabriel's lips, an answer to too many questions and an admission of guilt at the same time, as his fingers traced gently the hem of the brown cloak on Gabriel's chest.

  
It was enough to give Gabriel the last push of bravery that he needed to act. Delicately he leaned in, closing what little space was left between their bodies, their lips meeting in the most pure way Gabriel had ever experienced. His heart soared at the contact, his mouth stretching into a smile that wasn't caused by the feathers of Jack's mask tickling his skin. He hoped that his beard was doing the same trick for Jack.

  
When they ended the kiss it was like the world had gone silent. They were the only thing existing, the only that mattered, looking in each other's eyes as their foreheads touched. Gabriel could see only himself reflected in those pools of darkened blue.

  
Then the voice of the king and his master of ceremonies resonated in the whole palace, calling for the betrothed to reach the dais for the whole audience to participate in their happiness.

  
Both of them turned their heads in the direction of the ballroom, no music coming anymore from there, only conceited voices.

  
Gabriel rose and dusted is cloak off of imaginary dirt, a habit he got on the muddy battlefield, and reached out with his hand for Jack to take it once again.

  
Jack though was still sitting on the floor, petrified. When Gabriel called his name, he refused to look up. “You're not going to like this…” he said with a voice that sounded seconds away from breaking down into a wail.

  
Not understanding the meaning of the sentence nor Jack's unexpected change of mood, Gabriel was about to ask for clarifications from his intended when a bunch of valets in their colorful uniforms entered the studio in search of the foreign prince just to push Gabriel out of the room and trough corridors with contrived words and some forceful push. The white bone mask was forgotten on the floor next to Jack.

  
Without much ado nor care Gabriel found himself on the dais, still shocked by Jack absence, in company of the King and Queen Morrison and another person wearing a swan costume. Somebody smaller than Jack but equally blond haired and blue eyed… but definitely not Jack. His heart was beating faster in denial, the realization knocking insistently at the door of his mind yet Gabriel refused to accept it in.

  
“My dear guests,” King Morrison started, the firm voice of somebody used to be obeyed and promptly, “tonight is a night of celebration. After the terrible years we've spent fighting each other, finally our great country and our equally great neighbors have reached a peaceful accord. To seal this important, historical event, my beloved daughter Angela will join the prince Gabriel Reyes in marriage.”

  
The audience of nobles in animal costumes erupted into loud cheering but Gabriel couldn't hear them. He was still shell shocked, feeling betrayed by Jack and King Morrison and this Angela person and by everything in general. The rest of the evening passed by him without Gabriel noticing anything, too wrapped up in his own private sorrow. He couldn't tell how much time he spent up on that dais, next to the swan who wasn't Jack, but when the party was over, Gabriel found himself pushed around again by some valets, this time inside a big room with the wrong swan.

  
Unceremoniously Gabriel sat down on one of the two plush chairs surrounding a garnished table, without bothering to show any courtesy toward his intended. He covered his face with his hands to hide his frustration and to not look at the equally unhappy to be there princess. What even was this mess?!

  
With a loud sigh, Angela too sat down, her chair scrapping the floor like a tantrum that the princess couldn't actualize. “Listen, I think both of us would prefer to be elsewhere in this moment,” she was keeping her voice soft and calm despite the situation, but Gabriel could hear it was the voice of somebody used to giving orders and seeing them respected. Once again. Must have been a family trait. “Yet here we are, in the same disagreeable situation. Together.”

  
Lowering his hands on the table, Gabriel looked at her. Blond yet not the right shade of blond, pale yet not the same. Even the eyes were blue but Gabriel couldn't find in them what he was yearning for. “Am I supposed to marry _you_?”

  
She hung her head low, “Don't sound like you're the only one being punished here…”

  
Oh… Feeling both a rush of anger for being belittled in such way and a strike of compassion because it seemed like they were caught in a similar situation, Gabriel was about to offer a tentative apology to the princess when an invisible door opened loudly in one of the decorated sides of the room.

  
“Angy please I...!” Jack stormed in, feathered coat fluttering behind him, but the words died in his mouth when he saw that Gabriel was there too, in his sister's company.

  
“Oh, you were quicker than I expected. I wish I had the time to exchange some words with prince Gabriel here.” The princess didn't seem surprised at all by Jack's sudden appearing, not even turning to look at him. It was like they had planned all along and Gabriel happened to be the victim of their cruel prank.

  
Getting close to his sister’s chair, Jack was frowning, his voice contrite and pleading, “Angy… I…”

  
She turned toward him smiling and when he put his strong hand on her shoulder, she covered it with her own. In that moment Gabriel got struck by how similar they looked in their swan costumes, even if the masks were dropped. He was still irritated at them though, to say the least.

  
“Don't worry Jackie, don't think I didn't see you. Fareeha and I were too busy avoiding her mother to go in hiding like somebody else did. She was dressed as an actual shrike can you believe it?” the last sentence was the only rushed, gossipy one. Angela had managed to keep her tone sweet and evenly paced through all the conversations, and yet here she was finally acting like a real person.

  
It didn't change Gabriel's mind. “I'm sorry to interrupt such an important family reunion but I think I'm owed some explanations here.” if he sounded bossy, he didn't care.

  
Angela turned toward Gabriel again, her courtesy facade back in place once more. “Princess Fareeha and I are in a relationship. We've been together for years and even if you and I are going to get married, that's not going to change anything between the two of us.”

  
Gabriel was pleasantly surprised by the guts that the princess was showing. This person was one worth of standing by his side, even if the marriage would be just for show “I understand. That's not going to be a problem for me. What I want to know is—”

  
Jack had been getting paler and paler at Gabriel's words, until he interrupted him “it was my idea to dress up similarly, to confuse our parents, so Angy could have some time alone with Fareeha. We didn't know what kind of person you would be.” Brutally honest, Jack was looking at Gabriel straight in the eyes. “It seems though that you too got caught up in our plan. We didn't mean for that to happen. I'm deeply sorry.” That said, he lowered his head and retracted his hand from Angela's shoulder. Jack was shutting off from the other people in the room and it pained Gabriel to see it. Even if they had known each other only for few hours, Gabriel felt that there was something between them, a seed that could grow given the opportunity. “What are you sorry for, Jack?” the words were out of Gabriel's mouth before he could realize it.

  
Thunderstruck, Jack raised his head again, revealing big wide eyes focused on Gabriel's face and a blushing pout.

  
“I'm not sorry for having spent the evening with the wrong sibling.”

  
Angela was smiling behind her hand in a way that somehow reminded Gabriel of Olivia. Sisters must be like that for everyone then… He knew he was not going to hear the end of it when he returned to his room and Olivia started asking for the details of his night….

  
“And with that I don’t mean I think you’re wrong, Jack. I think you’re perfectly right for me.”

  
Jack was still silent at the declaration, but he was blushing even more, his ears a lively red.

  
Moving his gaze to Angela, Gabriel spoke right to her, “I think in this moment peace is very important for both our countries,” both siblings nodded, “and if I have to sacrifice myself for it to happen, so be it. But I would never stop you Angela from seeing your lover.”

  
His words were answered by gasps, but Gabriel didn't give them the chance to answer “and I would appreciate if the same courtesy would be reserved to me also.” Gabriel was looking at Jack now with the solemnity of a promise, serious yet hoping his words would be well received.

  
JJack’s eyes were sparkling in the same way they had before, but now Gabriel could fully enjoy and appreciate seeing them without the mask covering his face, admiring the way his eyebrows creased, and his jaw relaxed in happiness. He was radiant.

  
With a serene expression on her face, diplomatic as always, Angela spoke in the same moment she took Jack's hand, making him startle “Agreed. I think everyone involved is going to be happy.”  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Underneath the full blossoms of the warm spring, Prince Gabriel Reyes married, in a beautiful, grand ceremony, princess Angela Morrison.

 

Both of their reigns rejoiced at the new-found peace, and at the prosperity that such union would surely bring to their kingdoms, and… if somebody present at the ceremony started to gossip about prince Jack Morrison and princess Fareeha Amari, and how they spent so much time together as of recently, the hopes for a second royal wedding already spreading far and wide, well… they were not completely wrong.

 

Nor were they completely right either…

 

But that’s another story, for another time.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments make authors happy :)


End file.
